


All the king's horses, and all the king's men

by Drago



Category: Block B, DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Changmin is 20, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Misunderstandings, Protective Yunho, Yunho is 22, Zico is 16, knight!Jiho, prince!Changmin, prince!Yunho, protective Zico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 10:18:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15993164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drago/pseuds/Drago
Summary: Yunho's whole family is murdered by his uncle, and the young prince becomes a prisoner of a man he only met once in his life.





	All the king's horses, and all the king's men

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my God, I can't into titles.

Yunho doesn’t have a problem with waking up bright and early. There is always so much to do, and not enough time during the day. He is not allowed to wander during the night, because it’s too dangerous for someone like him. He is already twenty two, but it doesn’t matter when you are the sole heir to the throne. He does have a sister, but she wouldn’t be accepted.  
As much as he enjoys waking up early, he doesn’t appreciate it, when there is a blade near his throat and a stranger with cold, dark eyes staring at him. He blinks a few times to shake off the sleepiness and hears the distinct, but muted sounds of people screaming somewhere in the castle. His heart is racing, and he wonders is he stands a chance against the intruder. He is in his nightclothes, and his sword isn’t anywhere near him. He suddenly realizes that the man doesn’t want to kill him, otherwise he would have done it already while he was asleep. There is no place for morals during a coup. It’s curious.  
“Get dressed, my prince,” the intruder finally says, words full of venom. Yunho doesn’t pay any mind to what he puts on, whether it looks good or not, but he chooses the thickest coast he can find, just in case they decide to leave him in the woods for the wolves to dispose of his body. Someone screams again. Long, piercing scream reaches his ears, and he knows it’s a sound of someone dying. His family… is probably dead, at least his parents are. His sister might be alive, but as much as he wishes she was, he knows that she would rather die, than be raped and enslaved. There aren’t any other options.  
The man shoves him towards the door, so he obediently opens it and goes out. He expects to see blood of his people on the walls, but there is none. Of course there isn’t, not many people are allowed in this side of the castle. He hears a scuffle, and when he turns left, he sees his personal guard fighting another stranger. His knight isn’t wearing a shirt, and there is a shallow gash on his arm. He is just a boy, really, and Yunho can see him stagger when the opponent attacks again. Yunho doesn’t think, he runs to cover the boy, knowing that he won’t be harmed.  
“Don’t kill him, please. He is only sixteen!”  
“Almost a man,” someone mockingly says, and when Yunho looks up, he sees his uncle, Hyuntae, smiling at him widely. It’s not unexpected, if Yunho had to point out someone from his family who would be capable of murder then it’s his uncle, but it still hurts. “I’m sorry to say, but your family is dead.”  
There is not an ounce of honesty in his uncle’s voice.  
“Why didn’t you kill me?”  
“You saved my son in the past,” it’s true, Hyuntae’s son was drowning in a lake, and Yunho saved him. The boy died few years later, and this time there was no one who could save him. “It’s the honorable thing to do.”  
Yunho wants to ask, if murdering his family in sleep is also honorable, but he is in no position to anger the man. “Please, let me take Jiho with me, he is still a child. He can go with me, wherever you are sending me. We are not related by blood, he poses no threat to you.”  
“Ah, I’m in a good mood, so I’ll let you keep him,” Hyuntae stares at him for a minute, waiting. “Are you not going to thank your king?”  
Jiho opens his lips to say something, probably mention the fact that – as long as Yunho is alive, the older man is not a king, but Yunho puts a hand over his lips, silencing him.  
“Thank you,” it’s a small act of disobedience, but he refuses to call Hyuntae a king.  
The castle is eerily quiet when the new guards lead them outside. Some people might still be asleep or they are all dead, he isn’t sure anymore. His uncle isn’t a well liked or powerful man, so it’s surprising that he’s had enough men to sneak into the palace to murder those loyal to Yunho’s father. He probably shouldn’t be thinking about it, but it’s easier than thinking about just about anything else.  
At least he managed to save Jiho, but when the new guards usher them into the carriage, he suddenly realizes that death might have been a better option for the young knight as well. Despite being slim, Jiho still has a baby face of someone much younger, and there are people who live to destroy such innocence.  
They are given some water, so he uses some of it to wipe Jiho’s wound clean. Thankfully, it’s not bleeding anymore. Yunho gives him one of the two shirts he is wearing, and settles in for a long ride. He doesn’t feel anything yet, there is a big hole where his feelings used to be. He is going to hold onto that as long as possible.  
He makes Jiho sit next to him, and few hours into the ride falls asleep with Jiho’s head on his shoulder. He must have been more tired than he thought, because he wakes up to someone dragging him out of the carriage. Another person puts what feels like a jute sack over his head, so he can’t see anything. He is more worried about his companion – his life, he assumes, at least has some value to his captors. So he is more than relieved when he can see again, even though he’s been locked in what looks like an unused bedroom, and finds Jiho next to him. The boy doesn’t seem scared, and Yunho applauds his ability to stay calm. The room is furnished, but there isn’t anything in it that could be used as a weapon, not even a chair.  
Thick, metal bars in the windows speak loudly of what they are now. Prisoners.  
He looks around for a book or some other source of entertainment, but doesn’t find anything. It’s just the two of them and a guard he is trying to ignore.  
“My king, may I speak?” Jiho asks, and Yunho feels a sudden urge to hug him.  
“You don’t need to call me that, I’m just Yunho now. You can speak whenever you want.”  
“Absolutely not,” the boy says with passion. “You are my king, and you always will be. I just wanted to say that I think we are in the Northern Kingdom, judging from their clothes.”  
“How do you know that? You’ve never been in any other kingdom than ours?”  
Jiho ducks his head shyly, “...books, I’ve read about them.” Yunho doesn’t know many knights who’d be interested in reading, and it makes Jiho so much more precious in his eyes.  
He’s been in the Northern Kingdom before, but he doesn’t remember the clothes they’ve worn back then, so he appreciates how well read his knight is.  
When the food arrives, Jiho insists on tasting it, before allowing him to take a bite. It’s not poisoned, just a little bland. It’s been hours since they arrived, and at this point he is no longer scared, just irritated and bored. At least they are allowed to use the bathroom, so he spends a bit too much time scrubbing off the dirt and grime of the day. He just doesn’t want Jiho to see him cry, now that he finally can do it, and judging from how long it takes the boy to finish his bath, he isn’t the only one who thought of it. They fall asleep together, and Yunho has never realized before how thin Jiho is. He is still a growing boy, of course, but he never paid any attention to it, and it almost makes him cry again.  
It still feels nice to be able to hold someone as he falls asleep, he knows it’s a false sense of security, but it helps him, and that’s all he can hope for at the moment. 

Yet again, he wakes up to a stranger staring at him, but this time is someone far more important than a knight. He immediately recognizes the king of the Northern Kingdom, Jiho was right then. The etiquette calls for a bow, but he stubbornly raises his chin. Even Jiho doesn’t move from his spot. King Dongsik doesn’t seem too happy with their behavior, but Yunho finds it difficult to care.  
“Welcome to the Northern Kingdom,” the king says, as if it was their choice to be here.  
“Why are we here?”  
“No need to be so rude,” king Dongsik says almost mockingly. “You are, after all, going to be a part of my family soon.”  
“What?”  
“You are here to marry my son, Changmin.”  
It hasn’t even crossed Yunho’s mind that he’s been kidnapped to _marry_ someone. It’s not how things are done among royal families, there is no need for a murder. He wants to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation he found himself in, but his throat is suddenly very, very dry.  
“But why?” he manages to croak out.  
“You are a perfect candidate,” it doesn’t tell him anything, but the king gives him another insincere smile before leaving the room. Soon after, they are given breakfast, which tastes like ash to Yunho.  
He tries to remember what prince Changmin looks like, but he has no recollection of ever meeting him. That, or the other man is so unmemorable that his brain simply erased the meeting completely. He doesn’t intend to marry Changmin, but wouldn’t it be awful, if the prince was boring? Better than cruel, he supposes, but at least cruel people are easy to hate. If he doesn’t manage to escape and has to lead a loveless, boring life… It’s not something he envisioned for himself. But he always thought that his family would be next to him, until they died of old age. That’s not going to happen either.  
In the evening, a new servant comes and tells Jiho that he will have his own room, and even though it’s right next to Yunho’s, he feels the anxiety slowly creeping up on him. Jiho tries to object, but they both know they have no say in it. Yunho prays it doesn’t mean that prince Changmin will be joining him that night.  
It doesn’t happen, but he doesn’t fall asleep, waiting for something, anything to happen. He half-expects Jiho to be dead in the morning. The boy joins him for breakfast unharmed, but as exhausted-looking as Yunho feels.  
They are given new, soft and luxurious clothes in various shades of blue – the color of the Northern Kingdom. Yunho wonders what would they do, if he refused to wear them. Would they make him walk around naked? Would they force him into them? In the end, he doesn’t risk it, because he isn’t alone in this.  
He has to wait three days and three nights to see Changmin, and it makes him wonder if the prince is at all interested in him, or if he disapproves of his parents’ choice. Yunho’s parents never tried to force him to marry, but he knows that other kingdoms have different customs.  
Prince Changmin is not exactly what he expected. He definitely isn’t a boy anymore, but he is still at the stage when his body looks slightly awkward, like he doesn’t quite know what to do with it. But his eyes are pretty, big and dark like doe’s, and his cheekbones are already quite prominent.  
The younger prince surprises him again, when the first thing he says is, “Isn’t your knight a bit young?”  
Yunho looks at Jiho, as if he doesn’t see the boy every day, once again taking notice of his baby face and long limbs that he will grow into.  
“He is sixteen, but you are right, he didn’t get to finish his training.”  
Changmin looks away for a second, but then collects himself and gives Yunho a forced smile, “I forgot to introduce myself, I apologize. I’m Shim Changmin, the heir of the Northern Kingdom.”  
Hearing the other man introduce himself like that stings more than he thought it would. Just a week ago, he would be able to say something very similar, now he just gives the smallest of bows, “I’m Yunho.”  
Changmin stays for over an hour, and Yunho mostly listens to what the man has to say. It’s quite obvious that the other prince isn’t very good at talking to new people, but he seems smart. And not as cruel as his father, but it might be a farce, Yunho won’t know for sure until he angers him. He doesn’t plan on doing that, because he doesn’t plan on overstaying his welcome.  
Yunho doesn’t want to feel that way, but things get easier after prince Changmin starts visiting him every day. He is still closely guarded, but Yunho’s room is no longer an empty cell. There is a small table with two chairs and a big, comfortable armchair. But most importantly, there are books, because the young prince seems to love reading more than he does swordsmanship, which is quite unusual and a little endearing.  
“I could kill him,” Jiho offers one evening, after Changmin has left for the night.  
“You don’t even have a weapon,” Yunho says, too shocked to comprehend what his knight is saying.  
“I could strangle him. It’s not that difficult.”  
Yunho doubts it, Changmin might be a bookworm, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to fight, and he seems to be hiding some muscles under the clothes.  
“No, Jiho. Why would I want you to do that? He is nice.”  
“Revenge,” the boy doesn’t even hesitate. “He is the reason you are here.”  
“It’s his father’s decision.”  
“But you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him,” and that, he can’t deny.  
“No, they will kill you, if you as much as breathe on him.”  
Jiho just shrugs, like he doesn’t care for his own life, but Yunho does care, probably too much. So he stares into Jiho’s catlike eyes and repeats, “Don’t kill the prince. Killing innocent people won’t make our pain any lesser.”  
“Don’t let him convince you that this is the life you want,” Jiho immediately fires back, “a golden cage is still a cage.”  
For a second, Yunho wants to scold him for speaking so harshly to a king, but then he remembers that he wanted Jiho to speak freely around him, and he can’t take it back just because he doesn’t like what the boy has to say. Besides, Yunho knows that Jiho is right. They are captives, and if his family was still alive, he wouldn’t even think about the younger prince. But it’s easier to like Changmin than to fight him all the time, especially since he really seems to be innocent.  
After all, the king does, what the king wants and everyone else is just puppets.

After over a month, Yunho is allowed outside of his room, but not outside the castle. His window oversees the garden, and he spends hours just looking at it, wanting to smell the vibrant flowers he sees and sit there with a book, enjoying the peace. He is tired of his small room, there is only so much he can do, and he can feel himself getting rusty, he spares with Jiho, but the bed takes up almost the whole room, so it’s hardly a strenuous exercise.  
He isn’t looking forward to a dinner with the royal family that he is supposed to attend. He knows that Changmin has two younger sisters, Jiyeon and Sooyeon, but so far there was no reason for him to meet them. Then there are the king and the queen, and he doesn’t want to be in the same room as the royal couple. But he doesn’t have a say in it either, he is no longer his own person.  
Yunho really wants to keep the hatred out of his heart, but it’s difficult when the king looks at him with a smug smile. He speaks only when directly engaged, Jiyeon and Sooyeon are very friendly, but when he looks at them he thinks of Jihye, and the pain is just too excruciating. He hopes that the king won’t talk to him at all, but of course his hopes are shuttered when the king mentions the wedding.  
“Just one more year, and you will be a part of our family,” king Dongsik says it with a smile, but Yunho is almost certain he can hear the hissing of a snake behind his voice.  
“Why wait a year?” he asks, only because he can’t ignore the man in power.  
“Are you in a hurry to marry Changmin? That’s lovely, but you will have to wait, as it is a custom for our royalty to marry when they are twenty one.”  
“Then you could’ve just asked for my hand, instead of murdering my whole family. I’m sure it would’ve been easier,” Yunho doesn’t mean to say this, but his tongue suddenly refuses to obey him. Mentioning murder during a meal isn’t good manners, but the reactions it gets are interesting. Both princesses seem shocked, and Changmin freezes with with a goblet still raised to his lips.  
“Oh, but I didn’t. Wasn’t it lord Hyuntae, who is behind the scheme?”  
“Your knights helped him, they wouldn’t do it without your approval. Unless you want to tell me that your knights do as they please.”  
He expects the king to feign innocence still, but instead, a nasty smile blooms on his face.  
“Your father refused to help me when I was battling the Southern Kingdom. His betrayal couldn’t be forgotten.”  
“Betrayal? You were battling king Jaejoong out of greed and malice, trying to take over their lands, even though they have done nothing wrong! And it was ten years ago!”  
“What do you know, you were just a child then.”  
“Books don’t lie. My father didn’t lie.”  
King Dongsik looks like he might order the guards to behead Yunho here and now, but the king without a crown is ready for it.  
His heart is pounding, but he doesn’t hesitate, when he says, “You did it, because when I marry your son in a year, everyone is going to think I plotted with Hyuntae against my own family, so I could marry prince Changmin. That I was the one behind the whole scheme and your hands are clean. It’s disgusting!”  
He stands up, knocking the chair over, and leaves the dining room without looking back to see if Jiho is following him. He is.  
Yunho doesn’t get executed the next day. Or the one after. Three days after the disastrous dinner he knows that he is going to live, but it doesn’t bring him any comfort.  
Changmin stops visiting. Yunho didn’t realize how much he got used to their talks. With Jiho around, he can’t say he is lonely, but Jiho still acts very much like his guard, and Yunho could use a friend.  
He just doesn’t expect a friend in a form of Sooyeon. The princess knocks on his door shyly, but she seems determined to talk to him. Her nervousness is obvious, her hands shake so much that Yunho covers them with his hands, telling her softly that she doesn’t have to fear him.  
“I want to apologize,” Sooyeon finally says, “on behalf of my father. I know that my apology doesn’t mean a thing, but I want you to know that my heart breaks for you. I did not expect father to be so cruel.”  
“You’ve done nothing wrong, my princess.”  
“Isn’t ignorance the worst flaw? It doesn’t matter now… But I want you to know that Changmin wasn’t aware of our father’s plan. He was very surprised that you are confined to your room, but our father didn’t want to tell him the truth.”  
“Why is he avoiding me then?”  
“He is ashamed. I promise you, he did not know.”  
Yunho believes her. Changmin doesn’t seem like someone who would murder a whole family just to marry someone. He’d know better. Yunho wishes he could be angry at the younger man, but he knows that their marriage is just a convenient excuse, and both of them are puppets in king Dongsik’s hands.  
Sooyeon is good company. She is very smart, but she confesses that her parents don’t like that. Yunho shouldn’t be as surprised as he is, every kingdom is different. But his parents always encouraged Jihye to study harder, so it’s difficult for him to imagine that the Northern king would rather have a beautiful, but not smart, daughter.  
Sooyeon is completely different than Changmin, much more cheerful and less restrained, even though he still catches her staring at him with regret in the eyes when she thinks he can’t see her. He doesn’t need pity, but it feels good to know that there is someone who genuinely cares about his well-being. And Jiho’s, because the princess always tries to talk to the knight at least a little bit. She also manages something Changmin couldn’t do, or maybe didn’t even think about doing. Sooyeon convinces her parents to allow him outside, in the gardens, and Yunho almost cries when he touches the flowers for the first time in months. He can see that Jiho is equally happy. They are closely guarded, but Yunho feels almost free when he stares at the clear, blue sky.  
“We could knock out the princess, kill the guards and try to run,” Jiho suggests one evening, and Yunho has to chuckle.  
“Knock her out? Why not kill her?”  
“She is… nice. She doesn’t deserve to die,” Jiho murmurs, and Yunho feels an irresistible need to hug the boy, and this time he doesn’t stop himself. Jiho stiffens, but then allows himself to be hugged, and Yunho wonders when was the last time anyone has done it for him.  
He knows that Jiho is an orphan, and that before he came to live in the palace he’s lived in an orphanage. Yunho’s heard many stories from people, and he didn’t like any of them. It’s quite possible that Jiho doesn’t know the gentle touch of someone who cares, so Yunho doesn’t let go.  
“We stand no chance. I admire your fighting spirit, but we have to carefully pick our battles.”  
“There are no battles to pick.”  
Yunho wants to argue with that, if only to cheer up the younger man, but he finds himself at loss for words. Maybe Jiho is right, maybe there is no way out.

“Could you tell Changmin that I’m not angry at him and that he can visit me again, if he wants?”  
Both Sooyeon and Jiho look at him then, but their eyes tell completely different stories.  
“I will. I’m sure he will visit soon,” the princess hesitates for a second, “do you think that you could… find it in your heart to love him? If the situation was different?”  
“Why do you ask?”  
“He is a man… I don’t want to assume.”  
“Him being a man… It’s not a problem,” Yunho doesn’t look at Sooyeon, but at Jiho, who wasn’t aware of his preferences. Yunho’s been with men before, but he would always sneak out without his guard. The boy was just too young. Jiho’s face doesn’t betray any ill feelings, and he lets himself relax.  
Changmin visits him three days later, and Yunho makes a mental note to thank Sooyeon. At first, the prince avoids looking him in the eye, clearly uncomfortable and ashamed, curling his shoulders to make himself appear smaller.  
“There are no words that would express how ashamed of my father I am,” Changmin finally says, and his voice is quiet, but strong. “I’d have done everything to stop him, if I knew of his plans. I understand if you hate me.”  
“I don’t. You’ve been nothing, but good to me. I can’t hate you for your father’s sins.”  
Changmin gives him a small, hopeful smile, and Yunho realizes that the prince feels something for him, something deeper than friendship.  
They go for a walk, but Yunho tells Jiho to stay in the castle, worried that the boy will do something rash, like attack Changmin. Outside, the prince is visibly more relaxed, perhaps it’s the lack of Jiho’s watchful gaze, or maybe it’s the illusion of freedom that the gardens give. It’s almost like they are a newly engage couple taking a stroll on a warm, summer day.  
It takes Yunho few more weeks to admit that he is quite infatuated with the quiet, but sharp-tongued, prince. They usually dine together, sometimes Jiyeon and Sooyeon join them, but their parents always eat in a different part of the castle. Yunho suspects it’s both Sooyeon’s and Changmin’s doing.  
Sometimes, he manages to forget that he is a prisoner, not a guest. But Jiho’s quiet presence reminds him of that, and he is grateful. He’s never been one to just accept what’s life throwing at him, never one to give up.  
And sometimes, he entertains the idea of asking Changmin and Sooyeon for help. But he abandons it quickly, not because he is afraid of the answer, but because he doesn’t want them to get hurt. He isn’t sure that the king would spare their lives, if he discovered they helped him.  
Changmin brings him books and sweets, and one night takes him outside during the full moon, but Yunho doesn’t get to appreciate the beauty of it for long, because Changmin takes his breath away with a kiss. The night starts and ends with just a kiss, because Yunho isn’t sure if he is ready to give more. If he can give more, when his heart is set on running away.  
A week later, he finds Changmin straddling Jiho on the bed, while the knight struggles against his grip, white shirt ripped open, red welts marring the pale skin on his chest. Yunho was bathing, and he doesn’t quite understand why the prince would choose to do this, but it doesn’t matter. He is furious as he rips Changmin off the boy, throws him on the floor and grips the chair, the only thing in the room that can cause serious harm. He is shaking, from both anger and betrayal, he doesn’t want to hurt the prince, but he will do anything to protect Jiho.  
He doesn’t expect Jiho to hug him from the back, stopping him from smashing Changmin’s head with a chair.  
“No, my king, please!”  
For a second, Yunho wonders if the knight was willing, if it was something he wanted, but he quickly discards the idea. Jiho probably knows that Yunho loves Changmin and wants to protect him at all cost.  
“How dare you violate him like that?” he snarls at the prince, not lowering his makeshift weapon.  
“I was not..! That’s absurd!”  
“It’s true,” Jiho whispers behind him, and Yunho finally sets down the chair and turns to look at his knight.  
“What happened then?”  
“He saw the knife I stole during the dinner. He was trying to take it away.”  
“He wasn’t willing to part with it peacefully, although what he would do with a butter knife is beyond me. Even so, if anyone else saw it, he would be executed. I grew fond of him,” Changmin smiles somewhat sadly, “and I know you’d be heartbroken if anything happened to Jiho.”  
The prince gets up, still slightly frazzled from the fight. He looks deeply into Yunho’s eyes when he adds, “I’d never take anyone by force. Never. Be it a knight or a king. I don’t reach for things that aren’t meant to be mine.”  
His gaze is too intense for Yunho to handle, the meaning behind Changmin’s words shaking him to the core. The prince leaves soon after, and Yunho asks Jiho to sleep with him, feeling the need to be close to someone he trusts with his life.  
He wakes up exhausted. No matter how soft the bed is, how fluffy the pillows, he keeps dreaming about his family. They aren’t bad dreams, mostly memories of the time they spent together. He would rather not dream about them at all, but it’s yet another thing beyond his reach.  
Jiho doesn’t look relaxed either, Yunho noticed it before. The boy always looks like he is having nightmares, and Yunho is yet to see him sleep peacefully through the night. Frankly speaking, during peaceful times Yunho never thought about the hardships the young knight went through, even though he always considered himself to be quite empathetic. But, perhaps, he was just like any other member of the royal family, oblivious to the struggles of those around them.  
No more.  
He presses his lips against the slightly furrowed eyebrows of his knight, trying to kiss the frown away. One day, Jiho is going to grow into a beautiful man, and it’s Yunho’s duty to ensure that it will happen.  
He is relieved when Changmin visits him again. A small part of him expected the younger man to be angry, but the prince takes him for a walk again, not mentioning the previous evening.  
“I’m not going to apologize,” Yunho says. “I protect him, and he protects me.”  
“I don’t think Jiho would agree with that, after all, you are his king. But I don’t expect the apology. I’d have done the same, if I found someone manhandling my sisters.”  
“But I do feel slightly bad, I hope I didn’t hurt you.”  
“I’m good, don’t worry about it. I… I wanted to tell you something,” Changmin mutters almost incomprehensibly, but Yunho is already used to that. The younger man would get embarrassed quite easily at the beginning, which he finds adorable. He patiently waits for Changmin to regain composure. “I’m not interested in other men… or women. At all. I’m only interested in you.”  
Yuno doesn’t expect the prince to drop to his knees, but that’s exactly what happens. He stares at Changmin absolutely baffled and watches him pull out a beautiful, but subtle, ring.  
“Will you marry me?”  
“But… We are already getting married.”  
“Yes, but it’s not real. It’s not, if you don’t want me.”  
Yunho doesn’t know what to do. The ring is beautiful and Changmin is looking at him with so much hope in his big, dark eyes, but deep down Yunho knows that it’s unfair to the both of them. He is still a prisoner, forced to marry Changmin whether the young man presents him with the engagement ring or not. But he is helpless against Changmin’s loving gaze, and Yunho’s heart flutters in his chest like a caged butterfly.  
He takes the ring.

Sooyeon is the first one to tell him about the ball, excitedly chattering about it, but her face falls when she remembers that Yunho won’t be able to attend it. He still can’t be seen by the royalty from other Kingdoms. It would destroy king Dongsik’s plans, and he wishes he could do just that. But he knows that the guards won’t let him step outside the room that night.  
Changmin isn’t as enthusiastic as his sister, but he has no choice. He is, after all, going to be a king one day. Which he isn’t overly happy about either, but it has more to do with his father’s expectations, than genuine distaste for being a king. Yunho is sure that Changmin is going to be a good king. In a way, the prince reminds him of his father, and he was a good man.  
On the day of the ball, Yunho doesn’t see neither Sooyeon nor Changmin, and the door to his room remains locked. Even Jiho isn’t allowed to be with him. That’s why he is quite surprised, when the door suddenly opens, and he sees the last person he expected.  
Kim Heechul is… his cousin, although Yunho isn’t really sure, the royal bloodline can be rather complex. But they were always close, even though Heechul lived in a different kingdom, under the rule of king Siwon.  
“What are you doing here?” he asks, shocked.  
“Yunho! My heart..! I thought you were dead!”  
Heechul isn’t known for being a very emotional person, but he hugs Yunho and starts crying, his grip surprisingly strong for someone so slim. Yunho hugs him just as strongly, inhaling the familiar scent. He doesn’t need to ask how his cousin managed to get into his room, after all Heechul is the unstoppable force, but he is curious as to how did the older man know he was there at all.  
“While I was… walking around, I heard one of the maids saying something about someone not being allowed to come out of the room. I got curious, it’s not often that guests are not allowed to join the party.”  
Heechul doesn’t want to let go, and Yunho ends up telling the whole story with the other man wrapped around him. By the end of it, Heechul is seething.  
“Siwon is not going to have it. Dongsik will get what he deserves, old fathers failed to see that he needs to be removed, but we know better.”  
“Heechul, please. I don’t want to start a war. I just want to be free.”  
“He deserves the same fate that met your family.”  
“No! His children are innocent, their presence made my imprisonment easier.”  
Heechul watches him like a hawk, but he doesn’t ask any questions.  
“Two days. Be ready in two days.”  
“What about Jiho?”  
“I wouldn’t leave your golden boy here. Now rest, I need to go back to my people.”  
There is only one thing Yunho wants to take with him, so he doesn’t bother with preparing his things. They aren’t really his, everything he owns belongs to king Dongsik, and he will be glad to get rid of it. He wishes he could talk to Sooyeon and Changmin about it, but he is worried they will try to stop him. He wants to believe they wouldn’t, but he isn’t going to risk it. There is something he has to do, and if he stays… His family will know no peace. Revenge was never something Yunho talked about. If anything, he always despised it, but the throne of the Western Kingdom belongs to him, and he is going to take it back. Siwon is a strong, righteous king, and Yunho knows that he will help him reclaim what’s rightfully his.  
He spends the last day with Changmin exchanging heated kisses, but stopping the prince when he tries to undo his belt. It would be unfair to Changmin and, if he has to be completely honest, he isn’t sure he would be able to handle it himself.  
Yunho expects to hear Heechul arrive. But there is nothing. He is reading a book, hands shaking as he flips the pages, and suddently the door opens, revealing three masked people. Heechul is one of them, and he reaches out to Yunho, who doesn’t hesitate to take the offered hand. The guards are on the floor.  
“Did you kill them?”  
“No. Jiho wanted to, but I knew you wouldn’t approve.”  
Yunho finally notices the young knight standing in the shadow, and he smiles warmly, even though he knows he will have to do something about Jiho’s murderous tendencies. Later. He will deal with it later.  
He doesn’t look back as they leave. He doesn’t have to. In his favourite book, there is a letter waiting for Changmin to discover, once his anger burns out, and he is ready to look for it. Yunho isn’t sure it’s going to be enough, but it’s the best he could do.  
And despite everything that he is leaving behind, everything that’s waiting ahead of them, freedom feels amazing.


End file.
